Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 334: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the reason county child care committees have not been informed in relation to national child care investment programme capital funding of their 2009 indicative budget for each county; the reason for the delay in conveying this information; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2246/09]

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 524: To ask the Minister for Health and Children when county child care committees will be informed of their 2009 indicative budget, regarding the national child care investment programme capital funding; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2245/09]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to take Questions Nos. 334 and 524 together.

Applications for large-scale capital grant funding under the National Childcare Investment Programme 2006-2010 (NCIP) are considered, in the first instance, by the relevant local City and County Childcare Committee (CCC). They are then forwarded to my Office for consideration and approval following which a further period of time is generally required before a project comes to contract and completes drawdown of the grant funding. In effect, projects which are processed in 2009 would be expected to give rise to capital expenditure 2010 and 2011.

As the Deputy will be aware, a Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes, chaired by Mr. Colm McCarthy, has been established to examine and make recommendations for the reduction of gross expenditure programmes under all headings and public service numbers in each Department. As the outcome of this process could impact on the level of capital expenditure available to the NCIP during 2010 and subsequent years, a decision regarding the timeframe for the next round of capital grant applications, under the programme has been deferred until the recommendations of the Group are known. This decision was communicated to the CCCs in December 2008. The Committees were also advised that this does not affect the position in regard to smaller scale capital grant schemes which are administered directly by them and in respect of which they have received specific funding allocations in 2009.